1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a deodorant polymer, and more particularly, to a porous polymer having excellent deodorant effects which is obtained by the hydrolysis and polycondensation of inorganic alkoxides and/or metal alkoxides by a sol-gel method. This invention also relates to a deodorant fibrous material obtained by combining such a deodorant porous polymer with a fibrous substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, with the improvements in the standard of living, there have been strong demands to remove any displeasing odors in order to live a comfortable life. For example, various deodorizers are used in order to remove or mask an odor in places with high airtightness, such as bathrooms, toilets, cars, and refrigerators.
Among the deodorizers, those having strong odors themselves such as perfumes or balsams are often used to mask an odor in places with high airtightness, such as toilets and cars. However, these deodorizers are limited to specific applications because of their own strong smells. On the other hand, there are chemical deodorizers that deodorize by chemical decomposition of odoriferous compounds. Such deodorizers usually contain, as the main component, a substance extracted from plants or synthetic compound, and used, for example, in a spray, for chemically decomposing a bad smell of trash or deodorizing body odor. However, these chemical deodorizers have the disadvantages of having smell themselves and the capability to decompose only specific odors.
Other deodorizers include absorptive deodorizers such as, active carbon and silica gel. These deodorizers are composed of porous particles in which odors are adsorbed, thereby achieving deodorization. Silica gel used as a moisture absorbent can also show deodorant effects. Powders of silica gel manufactured by a conventional method, however, have large pore sizes and the porosity (the proportion of pores to the total volume) is relatively small, thereby making it impossible to obtain satisfactory deodorant effects. Even when active carbon with a relatively large deodorizing activity is used, it is impossible to obtain satisfactory deodorant effects, because the pore size is not uniform and the particle size is relatively large.
Recently, attempts have been made to give deodorant effects to fibrous materials such as insoles, sanitary items, and underclothes. In a method for producing such deodorant fibrous materials, for example, thin layers of deodorant powders are sealed into a cloth of fibrous materials. However, the product obtained by this method is bulky and cannot be used for underclothes and the like. A preferable method for producing deodorant fibrous materials is to combine deodorant materials with a fibrous substrate. However, active carbon which is believed to have the highest deodorant activity has a black-colored appearance, and therefore, the applications of active carbon are limited. As described above, deodorant fibrous materials having excellent deodorant effects which can be readily produced are not yet obtainable.